July 12, 2005

ESPN announces its first ombudsdperson, George Solomon : I'm curious as to what everyone thinks about this move ... something to make it look like ESPN cares, or will it really improve the network?

read story | posted by smithers to Culture at 2:55 PM CDT (9 comments total)

It's already creating a stir among the grassroots. Sort of.

posted by DrJohnEvans at 3:17 PM CDT on July 12

Dear Ombudsman,

Joe Morgan sucks. Please do something about it.

Thanks in advance,

SpoFi

posted by wfrazerjr at 3:30 PM CDT on July 12

And please pull the plug on "Cold Pizza." And "Around the Horn." And "Dream Job." And "Tilt." And, basically, the entire ESPN Original Entertainment division.

And please, please, please, force Chris Berman to wear long sleeve shirts under his blazers. I'm so sick of seeing his pudgy, hairy, sweaty wrists and forearms sticking out of his jacket. Fer chrissake, you went to Brown to learn to dress like THAT?

posted by The_Black_Hand at 3:43 PM CDT on July 12

EOE is the best!!! And so are those awesome count-down shows they do with all the macabre, pseudo-circus actors holding up the handwritten signs..

posted by insomnyuk at 4:03 PM CDT on July 12

Definition of ombudsman - a professional whiner paid by a company to pretend to give a voice to the mass of actual consumers who do not get paid for their whining

posted by graymatters at 4:56 PM CDT on July 12

That's certainly a definition of an ombudsman, but if that's the standard you're holding a "professional" to, Ambrose Bierce, what's your definition of a message board poster? Remember Brendan Behan's (I think) comparison of theatre critics to "eunuchs in a harem: they see it performed every night but are unable to do it themselves."

Back when I subscribed, I thought the Boston Globe's ombudsman did a fine job, though I will grant you he was almost 100% ineffectual. Daniel Okrent certainly stirred up some shit with his op-ed compatriots while at the NYT this year.

posted by yerfatma at 5:16 PM CDT on July 12

Definition of message board poster - someone who gives his two-cents worth of commentary on a subject without receiving the two cents in return

However, my point really is that an ombudsman appears to be more of a public relations tool than anything else. As you point out, the Boston Globe ombudsman was almost totally ineffectual. Others have been more effective, at least in calling out their compatriots in certain cases (but there are media critics, even paid ones, that do that as well). So far (and I understand he is just getting started so it will take time for him to get in the groove) the ESPN ombudsman is just giving kudos, justifications for ESPN, and "I would have done it differently."

We will just have to see what the future brings for ESPN and its ombudsman program.

posted by graymatters at 6:55 PM CDT on July 12

One person trying to effect change within a massive corporation will always face a challenge. I really only read the web site and don't have much contact with their television programming, so I will be interested to hear if anybody notices any changes there.

posted by smithers at 8:15 AM CDT on July 13

Maybe he can get rid of the Old School/New School (I refuse to misspell it) feature. The very sound of Smith's or Bayless's voice guarantees immediate click away.

posted by trox at 8:34 AM CDT on July 13

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